Specialized courses to move to VISD home campuses

Four specialized courses are moving to the Victoria school district's two main high schools.

Orchestra; Ready, Set, Teach! and advanced graphic design classes will move from the Victoria Area Center for Advanced Learning to Victoria East and West high schools for the 2014-15 school year, said Kim Motley, VISD district counseling coordinator.

Motley gave a presentation on student scheduling and classroom changes at the school district's Board of Trustees regular monthly meeting Thursday.

The school district has made an effort to place more courses on home campuses, Motley said.

"We already have graphic design on campus, so it makes sense to have the advanced course at those locations as well," Motley said. "And with orchestra, since the program has expanded to the high school level, it's in the best interest of students to place that on their home campuses."

The move would increase students' time in the classroom because of the reduction in time spent traveling from one campus to another, Motley said.

"We want to have options for all students on their home campuses," said VISD Superintendent Robert Jaklich.

There are no tentative plans for the classroom space currently occupied by those courses, the superintendent said.

"I'm glad to see we'll be cutting down on student travel time," said board secretary Kevin VanHook.

Additionally, in efforts to provide a friendlier test-taking setting, Motley said students will be taking Advanced Placement exams at the VISD Conference Center this year.

Students will be taking AP exams from May 5 to 16, Motley said.

Last year, VISD started footing the bill for AP examination fees to enhance student assessment and promote college-readiness, Jaklich said.

The superintendent said there has been a 282 percent increase in the number of students taking AP exams from the previous year.

"The conference center will be a better environment for the students," Jaklich said.